Description:
Laura Perrotta Ross and Mary Perrotta were teachers whose oral history interview describes memorable times shared with their wide extended family. Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1946 and 1948, respectively, the sisters illustrate the experiences of their grandparents, who became original members of the Nutley, New Jersey, community, of their parents and their experiences during the Second World War, and the lives of their many family members in-between.
Referencing hundreds of letters between Laura and Mary’s parents and other relatives, their mother's diary and detailed family notes, and personal family memories, the two sisters craft a detailed story of a loving family network.
Laura and Mary's mother, Yolanda Liloia Perrotta, was a child of an Italian father and a Newark-born mother, Pietro and Mary (Sibilia) Liloia, who relocated to Nutley, New Jersey, which was a newly developing community when they arrived around 1914. Exceeding the gendered expectations placed on her, Yolanda excelled in school and became a buyer at F.W. Woolworth, and was even offered a managership at the Irvington, NJ, location. Laura and Mary's father, Lawrence Perrotta, was born in 1909 and came of age in the Bronx, New York City. His father was an immigrant from Avellino, Italy, and his mother died from influenza during the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1917, leaving her young family behind. The two younger boys were brought to an orphanage from which they escaped, taken care of from then on by their older sister. Laura and Mary referred to their father as a "remarkable person."
Lawrence and Yolanda's relationship was "love at first sight." The couple struggled through separation throughout Lawrence's military service. After graduating from NYU in 1933, he served as a first lieutenant in the Army through the 1930s and was discharged on December 7, 1941, the very day Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. Lawrence was thrust back into the service, this time being deployed to Germany. Lawrence was released from the military after being wounded in 1945. He received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his service.
The childhood of the three Perrotta sisters was a happy one. Their youngest sister Yolanda referred to the Nutley apartment building at 20 Washington Avenue in which they, their aunts, uncles, and cousins lived as the "family compound," packed with loving faces, jammed into one kitchen to celebrate birthdays, holidays, and events. Laura and Mary recall ice skating at the Nutley "Mud Hole," games of jump rope and spud, and watching football games at the Park Oval. They reminisce on town rivalries, swim lessons, and the local roller rink where skaters breezed by each other to the sound of live organ music. Remembering their grandparents, they describe midnight mass on Christmas Eve, making holiday ravioli, New Year's Eve zeppola and days at Preakness Pool in Totowa when the family was entertained by Grandpa's concertina. In high school, they enjoyed singing with the Nutley High Choralettes and weekly record hops with their peers. Laura graduated Nutley High School in 1964, Mary in 1966, and Yolanda, Jr. in 1971.
Both Laura and Mary earned their bachelor's degrees from Caldwell College, a Catholic women's college at the time. Laura received her master's degree in English at Ohio State University and an additional supervisor certification from Trenton State. Mary received her master's degree in Spanish Language and Literature from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and earned her teacher certification in Spanish, French, and English from Seton Hall University. Yolanda received her Juris Doctorate at Seton Hall Law School and became a practicing lawyer. Laura taught for twenty-five years at South Brunswick High School, teaching all grades and all levels of English. Mary served as a World Languages teacher in Nutley for almost forty years, considering the town part of her heritage. Laura notes that Mary cannot go anywhere in town without being stopped and told of her impact on her former students.
A thread in the Perrotta family story is the support and love of their family network. Their connection was put to the test during their sister Yolanda's struggle with cancer, which sadly claimed her life at the age of 46. Continuing the family support theme, both Laura and Mary united to care for Yolanda through her tragic illness and for her children after her passing. The sisters also recall caring for their mother to the age of almost 103, when ill health and dementia claimed her. One thing that helped was reading aloud the letters their mother kept from her younger years, revisiting her life decades later. The sisters remember their sister Yolanda as sweet, comical, and kind, and their mother as strong, determined, and caring, emphasizing the connection all the women shared.
The Perrotta sisters mentioned each of their family members by name in their oral history interview, ensuring "that they know we remember them." As they remember their past, aided by the family's own documentation and stories, they lovingly craft the narrative of a family who found success while leaning on each other, sharing over 100 years of family history and pride.
The Rutgers Oral History Archives received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. In the 2023-2024 cycle, this grant assisted the ROHA staff in making this oral history available to you for your use.